Miley Cyrus

Before she became the tattooed fiancée of Liam Hemsworth, Miley Cyrus came to fame as a child star on the Disney Channel's Hannah Montana–a series that required her play both a "regular kid" and a famous singer who performed her own songs.

The series proved a perfect vehicle for the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, and made the clean-cut kid instantly relatable to throngs of young viewers who turned Miley into a role model.

Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, the "Party in the U.S.A." singer earned the nickname "Smiley" because of her sunny disposition as a baby. The name was later shortened to "Miley," a moniker the Teen Choice Award winner took on as her legal name in 2008. She changed her middle name to Ray in honor of her grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus.

In 2007, young Cyrus was a wholesome actress who had released three records (one as Miley Cyrus and two as Hannah Montana). Parents were thrilled that their kids had such a squeaky clean role model and flocked to stores to buy Hannah Montana merchandise (even the toothpaste). So when Miley posted a suggestive picture of herself and a female friend sharing a piece of licorice, parents became outraged.

The following year, Miley's email was hacked and pictures of her in her underwear were leaked. By the time Miley was photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair wearing nothing but a bed sheet in 2008, parents had become apoplectic. 

In 2010, the "sexed up" Cyrus got tempers flaring again when she was caught on camera taking a hit of the natural herb salvia from a bong. Shortly after the incident, Miley jokingly referred to herself as a "stoner," which just added fuel to the mommy mob's fire.

One thing that fans and parents alike have finally learned to accept is that Cyrus is, in fact, old enough to date.

In 2012, she announced her engagement to The Last Song costar Liam Hemsworth, Miley Cyrus is elegant in white as she arrives at the 2013 Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party held at the Pacific Design Center on Sunday (February 24) in West Hollywood, Calif.

The 20-year-old actress/singer was seen taking photos with Steven Tyler, Elton John, Randy Jackson, and Kelly Osbourne.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Miley Cyrus

The night before, Miley attended an after party reception to celebrate Mario Testino’s Prism Exhibit at a private residence in Beverly Hills, Miley Cyrus suits up with scowl in this new shot from Cosmopolitan magazine’s March 2013 issue, out on newsstands Tuesday, February 5th!

The 20-year-old singer/actress opened up about satisfaction, her upcoming nuptials to Liam Hemsworth, and more. Check it:

On what she is satisfied most in life: “Number one is my relationship with Liam [Hemsworth]. That’s what I feel the most confident in because you never know; there’s so much hype behind my new record, but it could come out and, worst-case scenario, everyone f–king hates it.”

On what she wants her wedding to be like: “I feel the bigger the wedding, the more it becomes a target for people to ruin. So we just want it to be small, with the people who we’d take bullets for. I don’t want to be looking at those photos and see people that I wish hadn’t been there. C’mon, I can’t even get coffee without a million paparazzi following me, so I don’t know why anyone thinks I’m going to have this huge, extravagant wedding. That is so not who I am.”

On fiance Liam: “I’ll literally look at him and be like “You are hot, dear god!” The other day, I turned on the pool heater and it was steaming, and he walked outside and took off his clothes and jumped in the pool. I was like, ‘I’m gonna faint–the hottest guy of my life is in a steaming pool. This looks like a Playgirl shoot, Although many red-carpet interviews during this year's VMAs chose to characterize Miley Cyrus' busy schedule as having a new haircut and a fiance, the artist formerly known as Hannah Montana has actually been working for the better part of the year on a new album - with music due in the coming months.

iHeartRadio 2012 : Photos + More

Miley

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She told Billboard backstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival that she hopes to have a new single out by year's end, with a full album due in early 2013. "I wanna make a sick record," she said.

Among her recent collaborators? Pharrell Williams, a longtime idol of Cyrus', and hip-hop production duo Da Internz, the studio whizzes notably behind recent hits like Rihanna's "Birthday Cake" and Big Sean's "A$$."

"I've been in so many sessions and just kind of bunkering down and working really hard and perfecting everything," she said. "I've never really had time to do that, to kind of have my record kind of 'done' and then sit there and make it until it's perfect. So, it's been really, really fun. This whole year that's all I've really dedicated life to.